BREAKING NEWS: Herders kill two NECO candidates, seven others in Benue State. English Has Been Shifted to 2.00pm.

Suspected herdsmen yesterday launched another attack on Tse Shan at Saghev in Guma Local Government Area of Benue State, leaving at least nine people dead, including two students sitting for the ongoing Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) conducted by the National Examination Council (NECO).

Those killed in Guma, home of Governor Samuel Ortom, were seven, while two others were murdered in Logo, homestead of former Governor Gabriel Suswam. It was learnt that the attack, which occurred about 3a.m. when residents were still sleeping, left many people missing and others injured.

The Chairman of Guma Local Government Area, Mr. Anthony Shawon, who confirmed the killings, said the victims included two students who came to sit for NECO in the community. Shawon told journalists that he had reported the matter to the Special Adviser to the governor on Security Matters, Colonel Paul Hemba (rtd).

He said that bodies of the victims, including those injured, had been taken to the General Hospital, located at Gbajimba, the headquarters of Guma Local Government Area. The chairman said that he had received information that the attack came hours after soldiers deployed in the area to help maintain peace in the communities left the area.

He said the commander of the 72 Special Forces Battalion had swiftly dispatched soldiers in the scene of the attack to confront the killers, but on arrival at the scene, the attackers had already accomplished their mission and left.

The security adviser expressed the belief that the attackers made incursion into the area from a base in Logo Local Government Area.